Citigroup Capitalizes from the Belt and Road Initiative

April 17, 2019 (EIRNS)—Driven by increased business activity by Chinese companies, as well as multinational corporations, along trade routes along the Belt and Road Initiative, Citigroup said its revenue has gone up by 30% over the past year. Citigroup benefitted from clients along the trade corridor, South China Morning Post reported.

“The projects cited by Citi included a $775 million project bond for Indonesian utility PT Lestari Banten Energi in February; a $2.5 billion syndicated loan for Africa’s largest company Naspers; and $3.8 billion in belt-and-road-related bonds issued by Bank of China’s branches from Hong Kong to Luxembourg last week,”

SCMP wrote.

Citigroup also said it is targeting a 25% increase in revenue among intra-Asian trade corridors in 2019, including Belt and Road markets. The bank said that it saw a 22% increase in revenue in the first quarter along those corridors. The New York-based lender is one of a handful of global banks promoting its cross-border capabilities to capitalize on President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.